As the MCA gears up in preparation for the next general election, party divisions have been requested to submit their preliminary lists of candidates to the party headquarters before Oct 6.

MCA secretary-general Kong Cho Ha had requested the MCA divisions, through a letter dated July 22, to submit the lists for state and parliamentary seats.

“Only divisions where MCA has been contesting (as Barisan Nasional candidate) have been told to submit the list.

“At least three names each, either parliament or state seat, based on allocation in the 2008 general election. The divisions where MCA was not contesting were excluded from the directive,” a source told Bernama today.

In the last general election, MCA, under the Barisan Nasional (BN) ticket, contested in 40 parliamentary seats and 91 state seats. However, the party only won 15 parliamentary and 32 state seats.

However, when contacted, Kong remained coy on the matter, neither confirming nor denying there was such directive issued by him. He declined further comment.

    

MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek, when officially opening the Negri Sembilan MCA convention recently, was reported saying that MCA members should stop speculating on the list of candidates the party would field in the polls.

“Those who claim that they have my blessings are dreaming. I have neither asked for any name nor has any division submitted names,” he was quoted as saying.

Chua was also reported to have said that the choice of candidates would be determined by their popularity and acceptance by the electorate.

However, asked when the divisions would submit their recommendations, he said they need not necessarily be publicised.

“We’ll ask the divisions for recommendations but we (party leadership) will also do our homework on who should be fielded,” he said, reiterating that those holding party positions need not automatically be fielded as candidates.

- Bernama